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4MEL s. LYMAN, 0F new-"front, nys/3..., l"

lmrnovtatwrm APPARMUS for rumfvlneniwme. 'Anncoonseceeasements;

Specification forming partof LettersPctent-No. ljydetod October 1I, lv8l`v5ivapplicatioilm `I p, L

v Aprneaiszaf t l To all whomit may concern." z Be it known that 1, A( S. LEMAN, of the city, county, and State of N ew York, have' invented certain Improvements in Apparatus for Purifying, Cooling, and'Drying or Warm i ing and Moistening Air, and for 'other purposes, of which the following is a specification:

The' first and principal object of my invention is the construction of au apparatus which shall `not only take out all the impurities from the air while passing through it, but itself be kept sweet and pure, so that I can by its aid for the supply of a room to be purified andv cooled or warmed, and in a combination ci' such a filter so operated with an air-forcing' apparatus, and its combination lwith the airchamher of a heating apparatus,- as hereinafter described and claimed.

Figure 1 is a' vertical section of an apparatus which I4 have in use for purifying, cooling, and drying or warming the air of my house.vv A is a filter of charcoal, four feet long, four `feet wide, and three feet deep. The charcoal is split into pieces, preferably halt` an inch to three-fourths of an inch thick and one or two inches long. This filter, composedy of such pieces piled in loosely, presents an enormous surface to the air, while thepieces allow` it to pass freely in 4zigzagdirections `up through them, `Pulverized'coal and smallv pieces are carefully excluded,` as theywould lill'np the intcrstices between the lumps, and obstruct the free passage ef the air. B is afan to urge lthe circulation when it is used as a cooler, and placed below the room to be cooled. MGold well or spring water is sprinkled on the filter means of `the oscillating box C D, as need-y -e `'.llhewater is supplied to this box a small streampfrom the pipe lW"iwhen@'one side, .0, is nearly full, it tipsdoivnvand emp-l ties into `its side S of the sprinklinypaulnd,

presents .the other side, D,to he .llednud v emptied in its t-nrn.`

, :Any other arrangement,'thatwilldisperse V the water over the lter .may be ,osezhV The filter may also he made .of lumps of colte, or of Vpumice'- stone, or even. of pebble-stones such as are found on the seashore, or ofsmall earthen4 or glass 'cups properly constructed and :arranged hut I -greatlyli-pretfer the! charfY coal. l y ,y i The charcoahbeing porous, holds the water' like sponge. V"This rester ygradually triclxles down from `topto bottom oft the llter,'whi1e the air` toy be purified," cooledfan'd dried is" tlowi n g. up .throu gh it in 'a contraiy direction, and in directcont-act with it.` As the4 WaterVA` .and Yair are llowing in opposite directions the` air, onl leaving the top of "the filter and ente'ringthe chamber E, will he'l cooledtojnearths temperature of the SuppIywat'er, while-theI discharged water, when fallingfrom Athe char# coal into the pan P, will'heiwarmed tof"meer 1f, for example,"the air entersl N at a temperature of 100C?, and the water falls upon the top of ,the-'illter atate'mpera ture of 500, and if the filter iis of s uiiicient depth,`and` presentsysufficient surfli'ce,"the air will leave its top cooled heln'ahdfdlred so that its dew-pointis'belo'wfBFi-while'the water, if sprinkled evenly and not'in toogreat a quantity, will fall from the bottomi'of the lfilter into the pan P at afteinpeiature alcove4 'By v this" mode' of contrary? currents of water and air passing in` opposite` digections through each other it. is evident thatthe .greatpossibleiamount o fcooling andfdryingzcan t A 1cni:;iwinftil-cleat possible fintanto wefx A .f the `Senne amount of airfwere cooler zwi h the samef'amount of water," andfdried to the utinostrtltentby the com mon mdez'ofipassing it througrle` ishower off'water' ein the tormpf spray, it 'would no' he cooledasdowes 82D, amtheair of the room lrentilatedhyfit would he very warm and very'damp, instead 4of being and very dry,'asuwhen this .filter isused. As the; air leaves this ilteritpasses,

the chamber as indicated by the arrows, np lthe furnacepipes und registersJ into the ruomsfin'- the different'stories. y v l o Itis much easier distributingcool Vaiuthan' warmy nir, where itis wanted, through the lower etoricsof the'divelling. .It' sent up -into the hall only, .instead of rising directly to' the' up; per. stories, as hot air does, it 'spreads out into and coolsand yentilates all the lower rooms,v

it theirdoors are left open, "before rising to the upper stor'cs,-irom whence it maybe allowed 'to escape by thcjiire-places., andfromv the-wim" :dows onjtlelee side of the house, or if pre.

ferred,from an exhausting-cowl in the roof.

When this ap'parnts is to be used to-coola refrigerator for preserving'm'eats or otherperisliable 4articles, cr'to .cool air for other purposes where .a very low temperature is re- 'quired,l would supply v'it with salt-water' 'cooled `by the use otpart ofan ice-machine,

the saine waterused over and over. '-By this mmiewe can cool the 'air to near zero, if de.

uur warnen/gend genialen 'g in' wintefniis sincerity-ing apparatus is -also very useful, as'

has been proved .by careful and thorough trial through several winters in my dwelling, For the 'dint six or eight years there was no fan,

and none is e'ed, as the charcoal about eight barrels) was split up so as to lie ooselyand generally changed yearly; the natural draft'of the hoifair pipes was sufficient But from some trials with lthe fan I ,he-ve' 'conclndcdjhat it I might-,be made of in .increasing Athe supply of air by any registers which have not suliicient natural draft. It' can also vbe made to increase thedraft ofthe fire in the furnace by havingasmall tube fronrthefany chamber to the furnace chimney or pipe, ending in a jet aimed vso asto force th'e rapidly up the tine.- This arrangement preventsv the possibility of the escape of yany smoke or gas from'gthc joints of the furnace into the- .house inany while the fau is running, and insures a strong draft to thefurnace while kindling the dre..- From sometrials I have concluded that-'if preferred, instead of using two' furnaces for a large -b u'ilding',fthe heatin g- .power of a furnace may be doubled,.and the .ventilation by its dues increased to any desir'- able extent, by the application o f a little power -temperature of the water, and its vapor ini-ngled with the air to, be heated. The ordinary evaporating-pau in the furnace-chamber was dispensed with`, thus saving the heat lthat would have been rel'luired to. evaporate this water. ,Besides this, even when the temperature of the air was near zero before it entered 'from outdoors, it was generallywarm'ed to the temperature of 50 or '60 by simply passing through the puriler, thus effecting a great saving inf fuel. We hare-this last winter passed the products of combustion directly from the furnace to the chimney-line without sending theml under' the pan, and 'depended entirely upon the cold Water sprinkled upon the 'filter for moistening the air. This water- 'is at-all times below 500, and`when but -little is sprinkled on, o r during oulya few minutes each dayXth' filter is,o'n very cold days, cooled: bclbw 350, and notwithstanding the air is so very drythe 'dew-point being-below 35o-it is vstillvery pleasant' and agreeable, and I be- 4lie'fve -the change to bebenel'lcal to the health that it has something ofthe 'saine effect as the very -dryair of the western' plains. Itis more stimulating and invigorating, and thel student accomplishes more mental labor in it, and with less eort than in inoist'air.

Where thewinters are long and cold,or vWhere large volumes of air are wanted .for ,ventilatioiul would inoisten and warm allthe air to near 500,v by the free `use of well or spring water on. the lilier, thus not only puri- .fyin'g the air, and always moistening it just enough', but saving very greatly in fuel. In some cases more than one-half the fuel may be saved by this mode.'r

' .When the air is thus passed in thin ,zigzag 'I streams through and in contactv with this .large wet charcoal filter, and thus thoroughly washed from its metes and impurities before coming in contact' with the furnace, the heat ing of the furnace to redness causes none of that'scorche'd smell so peculiar to furnaces and stoves when very highly heated. Ou the contrary it is considered more agreeable andsalubrious thau'that from .anyhot-water apparatus.. l

In order that the principleand mode of ,op

eration of this apparatus may be clearly understood, I will briefly-refer to a few facts.

The various zymotic diseases are believed to be caused by the inhalation of various decomposing matters which are floating in the air,

Iand which, when inhaled, are mingled with the blood, and act like leaven in the uids of the system. Consumption, also, and other forms of scrofulous disease, are the result of breathing impure air. l

Pure cold water absorbs large amounts of impurities, and thus puries foul air that-is brought in contact with it.' Charcoal also absorbs andfdestroys all decomposing matters and foul gases, and a filter of charcoal even stops particles of decomposing matter that are floating in the air While passing through it, apparently very much as a filter ot' magnets would the little particles of iron when floating in water through it. i

Itis believed-th t the two most deleterious gases in the. air are sulphureted hydrogen and sulphuret of ammonia.v Water absorbsseveral hundred times its volume of ammoniacal gas. It alsoabsorhs its volume ofsulphuretedi hydrogen gas, while charcoal absorbs eightyv times its volume of this most poisonous gas, and, uniting oxygen with it, forms dilute sulphurie acid, which is Washed out of thecharfcoal by water passing down through it, and

thus the charcoal is rerivied by the water,

and kept long in active operation.

In other respects this filter possesses great 4 advantages over metallic pipes and radiators.

If properly split up, tive thousand square feet of cooling or warming surface of wet charcoal occupies less space than' one hundred square feel of common oastirou surfaceo The cost of this surface is comparatively triilin The charcoal is also indestructible. It does not rust out like iron, nor poison the air with the smell of verdigris like copper. The air and Water being here in' direct contact, it is be lieved that the air is cooled and dried more perfectly than by iron or copper pipes containing' water at the same temperature. But vastly more important than all the rest is the fact that, the air-is here thoroughly purified iu passing up through the narrow zigzag passages of this charcoal lter, with its immense wet surfeces, and cleansed from all dust, motos, fungi, particles of decomposing matter, and impure gases from all miasms, Whether contagiousor vnialanious, and these poisons are carried oi to y the sewer by the waste-water, instead of being sentup into the house, as they are by the ordinary modes of ventilation, to be inhaled into the lunes and'commiugled with the blood,

to poison and debilitate the systen, and renl der it susceptible `to diseases. With this epporatus in proper operation, the family, when at home, though in nlilthy city, can et yall seasons of the ycarenjoy a pure anni healthful atmosphere.

' l claim as my inventionl. The combination, with the room to be purified, of the iilter A, composed of pieces of charcoal, coke, or other similar pieces, the sprinkler D S,\a.ud air-chambers N :and E, whereby the filter is sui'used'with sprayed 1 water, and the air passed upwnrd through the iilter'is purified and cooled or warmed, as 'desired, for the purposes speciiied.

2. The combination, `with the room to be ventilated, of the -filter A, composed of pieces of charcoal, coke, or other similar pieces, the

4sprinkler D S, and air-chambers N and E, with Vthe fauor other arrangements for urging the E. L. GREENWOOD, WM. W. Guire 

